1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of special receptacles or packaging in general, and in particular to a separable beverage receptacle package wherein a plurality of individual beverage receptacles are aligned in a side by side fashion and each individual receptacle has an integral spout exposed by the removal of a tear strip.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,904,092; 4,908,248; 4,972,657; 5,041,317; and 5,118,202, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse specialized receptacles designed to provide a wide variety of functions.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical packaging arrangement for beverages that will provide the user with easy access to flexible compartmented packaging that contains predetermined volumes of liquid arrayed in a side by side fashion.
As most adults are aware, children do not possess the proper amount of self control to regulate their fluid intake of a favorite beverage. In addition, there are many liquid beverages that maintain a more robust flavor when sealed within a container or receptacle prior to use.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved type of beverage receptacle packaging that will maintain pre-measured volumes of liquid beverages in a tear away side by side fashion, and the provision of such an arrangement is a stated objective of the present invention.
Briefly stated, the separable beverage receptacle packaging that forms the basis of the present invention comprises in general, a plurality of receptacle units formed in a contiguous side by side fashion and including two sheets of plastic that are heat sealed along defined lines to create the individual receptacle units which are separated from one another by a line of scored perforations that allow the individual receptacle units to be physically separated from one another.
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, the preferred embodiment of the invention is fabricated in accordance with a specific method which involves the steps of aligning the two sheets of plastic in a face to face orientation and using heat welds along the bottom of the sheets of plastic to define the base of each of the receptacle units.
Then, a series of elongated spaced vertical heat welds are created to define the opposed sides of each of the individual receptacle units. The heat welded seams initially terminate at a location spaced from the top of the opposed sheets to that the top of each receptacle unit is initially left open to accommodate a filling nozzle.
At this juncture, another horizontally disposed heat weld is applied across the open top of the individual receptacle units to captively entrain the liquid beverage and to join the opposed faces of that portion of the plastic sheets disposed above the liquid filled receptacle units.
Once this step has been completed, a tapered crimping step is applied below the top horizontally disposed heat weld to create a tear strip and an integrally formed drinking spout. The final steps in the method involve the cutting of a saw toothed pattern across the bottom edges of the plastic sheets and the perforation of the vertically aligned heat welds and the top of the tapered crimp area which facilitates the opening of the individual receptacle units, as well as the separation of the receptacle units from one another.